BECAUZ Accelerators™

The BECAUZ Accelerator™ program utilizes proprietary Processes, Tools and Systems to install transformational change in Leaders, Teams and Organization. This process accelerates change because of our proven processes, dynamic facilitation and an integrated, systemic approach.

How do we maximize our impact as a World Class IT Organization and embrace the challenges presented by global economic and IT events and trends?

Walter PuschnerVP - Worldwide Field ITMicrosoft

How can we create a leadership team to transform our firm?

Mike PongonCOOPoint B

How can we most effectively communicate our Real Estate Repositioning offering to add value for our clients?

Tony StewartVice PresidentMcKinstry

How do we maximize our impact as a World Class IT Organization and embrace the challenges presented by global economic and IT events and trends?

Walter PuschnerVP - Worldwide Field ITMicrosoft

BECAUZ tailors the programs they offer us to closely align to our business needs. Each and every interaction has its own dynamic, and they are able to adjust what they do, live in the moment, to maximize results and value. That kind of adaptability and dynamism is a core skill you don’t often find.

Walter PuschnerVice President, User ExperienceMicrosoft

BECAUZ are savvy social architects who create environments that lead to extraordinary learning and results. With your help, our 80-person extended leadership team has moved from a “command and control” focus to an “inspire and involve” culture, with alignment and ownership embedded into the leadership ecosystem.

Jacky WrightVPMicrosoft SESIT

With BECAUZ we have consistently generated breakthrough results and have been able to align our teams around transformational strategy. We have built an adaptive organization that flourishes in the midst of uncertainty and innovates to create solutions that were unimaginable just a few years ago.

B.J. MooreVice PreidentMicrosoft - Enterprise Commerce IT

How can we engage our entire organization and partners as leaders to realize our vision?

Senior Director of a field readiness group

How do we get our engineering leads and their teams to perform at even higher levels as we grow and scale our business?

Brett HelselSr. VP EngineeringIsilon Systems, Inc.

What would be possible across teams if we collaborated?

Andrew ClaphamSenior DirectorDesign & Construction

How can we drive team performance, build client relationships and generate a better bottom line?

Erika SchmidtPresident & COOFrause

How can we build a global innovation engine without adding people or additional dollars?

Tyson HartmanChief Technology OfficerAvanade

Unconscious Bias

No matter how open-minded you consider yourself to be, you have biases. We all do. We’re humans who come with baggage, with pre-conditioning that cause us to experience the world through a lens that can distort reality.

The word “bias” doesn’t strictly refer to the “-isms” that society works to overcome: racism, sexism, ageism and more. Bias also refers predispositions, often unconscious ones, which can hamper your effectiveness and your ability to relate to others.

In your work environment, maybe you’re biased about some job functions (“sales people make me crazy!”) or personas (“he’s introverted, so he must…”) or skills (“I can’t relate to technical people”).

These unconscious biases are a form of self-protection. They serve as internal guidance systems to make sense of the unfamiliar, to make you more comfortable with unknowns. But biases get in your way. They distort situations; make you more reactive, less open to what is actually occurring.

Salespeople make you crazy? Then you might not take in the valuable customer insight they have to offer on your new product idea. So how do you get these preconceptions out of your way?

If you can make an unconscious bias a conscious one, you’ve started to overcome it. Acknowledging the bias helps you predict how you might react—and then you can choose how to behave. You can look beyond your biased lens to the bigger picture and choose to respond accordingly.

Let’s say you often find yourself getting aggravated in meetings with higher-ups in the company. Let’s also say they’re reasonable, capable leaders who haven’t earned your aggravation. Perhaps you have an unconscious bias against authority figures. (Yes, this might go back to a domineering parent, the coach who kept you on the sidelines, or a series of bad bosses.) How does your unconscious bias against authority figures get in your way? In addition to pre-meeting dread, you might resist their advice and miss valuable input. You might miss the opportunity to learn from people with more experience. You might be perceived as unreceptive or inflexible, not leadership material.

Now, suspecting you have a bias toward authority figures, how can you choose to handle the meeting? “OK, I have a grudge against authority figures. But what can I learn from them? How can they assist me in what I’m trying to achieve? ” Be open to the possibility that they’re people who truly want to support you.

The key is to acknowledge the bias, recognize that your lens may be flawed, then look beyond to the bigger goal. Choose how you will behave and react. Go into the situation with imagination, open to the possibilities. Then, look for the next unconscious bias to conquer.